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yesterday

U.S. Lifts Belarus Potash Sanctions as Minsk Pardons 123, Including Nobel Laureate

Washington frames the step as a test of Minsk's distance from Moscow.

Ales Bialiatski, en una celda durante un juicio en Minsk en 2023.
El intercambio consistió en la liberación de presos políticos a cambio del levantamiento de sanciones económicas por parte de Washington. | Crédito: captura en X y pixabay
Ales Bialiatski habla con la prensa en la embajada de Estados Unidos en Vilnius, Lituania, tras su liberación.
En esta imagen, distribuida por la oficina de prensa del presidente de Bielorrusia, Alexander Lukashenko (derecha) y el enviado de Estados Unidos, John Coale, se dan la mano durante una reunión en Minsk, Bielorrusia, el 12 de diciembre de 2025. (Oficina de prensa de la presidencia de Bielorrusia vía AP)

Overview

  • U.S. special envoy John Coale announced the end of potash restrictions after two days of talks in Minsk, describing the meetings as very productive.
  • Belarus said 123 people were pardoned across nationalities, with high‑profile detainees Ales Bialiatski and Maria Kolesnikova among those freed.
  • Several of the released were moved abroad, including Bialiatski to Lithuania and Kolesnikova among more than 100 transferred to Ukraine.
  • U.S. officials say the move seeks to curb Putin's influence and could leverage Lukashenko's ties for diplomacy on the war in Ukraine, while state media in Minsk tied the pardons to sanctions relief.
  • Opposition figures and rights groups welcomed the releases but warned that more than a thousand political prisoners remain and that EU penalties on Belarusian potash still apply.